The Sacred Meaning of Christ's mass

Here I am on Christmas eve, and surprisingly un-stressed. It is kinda sad that I have to say that, like Christmas is something to be stressed about, but it is true that is what it has basically become: Something that we start to dread in November and something to pain through in December and something that you are relieved is finished, but you know you will have to go through again in January. I am serious, this is what it seems like Christmas has become, that and a huge religious argument over whether you should even say "Merry Christmas", or put up a nativity scene in your own home. You pick up any newspaper or magazine and see the tragedy of what we have turned Christmas into. It reflects the consuming and greedy condition of our country. I just watched a recent episode of "Everybody loves Raymond" and I was disgusted to find that the whole basis of the plot for that episode was filled with the American delusion of happiness, that somehow stuff is what will bring you happiness. Materialism, materialism, and more materialism. Now I am not saying that it is a bad thing to buy presents and give them to others as a way of showing your love, it is just that the act of giving has been misconstrued into something so very much against what Jesus even came to earth on Christmas to teach us. I also just watched the movie Miracle on 34th Street, which is a movie about Santa Claus coming to New York City and trying to help a hardened child believe that there actually is a Santa Claus, and that he himself was that man. Santa is portrayed as a wonderful old man whose mission is to make children around the world "happy", and doing that by giving them what they want, when they want it. I was so boggled by the end of the movie because of the fact that they were creating a new meaning to Christmas, taking the whole reason for Christmas, and why it even became a holiday: Christ's birth, and replacing it with something superficial and stupid. They did not even mention ANYTHING religious once, and this movie was made in the thirties, when I thought that at least some Americans still had their heads on straight. This day is one of the most important days in the history of the world, the day that God's own Son came to earth and was born a human, so that we might have ETERNAL LIFE forever. And yet we all seem to forget this, as we are buried in the mountains of wrapping paper and toys, the mountains that we build for ourselves because of our unwillingness to look beyond it, to the life that Jesus came to give us. Because of what Christmas has become and what it's true meaning is prosecuted for, now in the 21st century, we as the people who have chosen the redemption of the little child Jesus, must not only as our duty but our joy, defend the sacred meaning of Christ's mass, of the coming into the world of our Lord and Saviour.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Julia

"Sweet Home California!!!"

Need I say more? :) Well we came home at 6:00 am on the 18 from a day of flying, sitting and driving. You might be thinking "oh, the poor things they must've been so tired," but actually we weren't that tired because we were so excited to see home again, and thoroughly woke ourselves up by running around the house shouting for joy and kissing everything. So because were the crazy Pudewas that we are, and in order to keep an early schedule, we decided to stay awake instead of to sleep. I was actually perfectly fine until 7 pm and then I conked and slept 12 hours... and here I am today. It is really weird coming home though, I am still trying to adjust. To see everything that we have been dreaming about and missing so much is really quite surreal, as if we are in a dream, or we never even went to South America. But we did and here we are back again to our "sweet home California." I will leave you now because carpet calls me, ( I have to replace the carpet in my room because of mold, so I must go and find a new carpet.) Good bye my friends.
Julia

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

...The truth is I really left you, all through those wild days, my mad existence, I've kept my promise, now keep your distance.

That was our story. The story that's come and gone. The story of my life for the past 3 months, and the incredible experience that will mark a huge point in my life, and leave me with unforgettable memories. Don't you always expect that when you travel the world it will feel a certain way, you go there with expectations, and a feeling of wonder? Well at least I went to South America with those feelings. Now as I sit here on the plane, thinking over all that's happened, I realize that those countries and cultures are still part of a world filled with pain and suffering, and that no matter how legendary or incredible a certain place is, it is still going to be affected by the world's brokenness. So I believe that what it really means to experience another culture is, in understanding that brokenness, to soak up the essence of what you find, and not in comparison to your own country, to love it for it's own. Not only have I really come to appreciate Argentina's culture, I have also learned a lot of things about life from it. I have learned how very big and vast this little planet really can be, and how every person I saw, every thing I touched, every step I took, had been done once before by some other person/s. Someone who had their own whole life, a life with joys and sorrows, personality and preferences, lovers and enemies, and that they too will live their lives just as I live mine, that the will still be there when I return home, all completely detached from me. It is all too profound for me to ever fully grasp, but I know one thing now, that I should never underestimate the vastness of mankind and my littleness in the complexity of humanity. Another important thing I've learned from this trip is confidence. I am a very timid and frightenable person by nature, and putting that in the stress and busyness of traveling in a foreign country makes me feel like my whole world is being turned upside down. Everything familiar and all that I have learned to trust is pulled from underneath my very own feet, everything is foreign and unfamiliar even my own language is compromised, you'ld just feel like you want to curl up and estrange your self from the world itself. This is how I felt when I first came to South America. I didn't care how many cool things there were, they were all too weird anyway, but as time went on, it was no longer an option to be passive, your food depended upon it. That is when and how I conquered it. There are so many other things that I have learned on this trip, but it would take a whole book to write it all down. Regardless of all my personal stuff, I want to thank you all for joining me in this journey, with all its ups and down, joys and pains, and for encouraging and inspiring me through it all. You guys are the best. And yes this trip is and was all in God's perfect plan for our trip, praise the Lord I'm comin' home.
Julia

P.S. I have thought about it and have decided that I want to keep this blog going. If I've managed to do 14 posts in the last 3 months, then hopefully, I can try again with my original plan for this blog and post my ideas and inspirations. I hope you will all want to join me in my biggest journey, the journey of life.
I hope to see you all again in the mass world of Cyber communication. Thanks!

Time...it has whole new meaning

Here we are in Montevideo once again. Except this time it's not a new experience, it' an old and familiar one. We have been away from home for 103 days or 3 months and 12 days. It is not even new news anymore, it's just weird, surreal, saddish, and also SUPER EXCITING. We have been here for so long and yet time has gone by faster than a light beam. 3 months ago this very day, in Montevideo. I could never have believed what the future of this trip would hold. And yet here I am with all those as memories, with more unknown moments in the future. It has all really made me realize how incredibly important it is to savor every second of every minute of these short lives that we live. All I ever look at is blindly towards the future, not even letting the present sink in and simmer There is so much to get out of life, and so that is why I wrote this entry at 1 am. To stop, take advantage of my ansomnia, stop and savor, stop and ponder, and stop and let live this crazy life of mine.
All in God's plan for our trip,
Julia

In the Midst of our Coziness and of the Mountains

The Volcano at sunset
The delicious rainbow trout that Chris and Elli caught
The view from our house at dusk
I came home to this... everyone plugged in to their own little universe
This is our cozy little Cabana
On the horseback ride...


All views from the trail
My little horse


Those snow peaked mountains



Typical farmsteads that you see EVERYWHERE
The town of Pucon... the highly touristic haven just down the road

And oh look... it's the volcano... for the hundredth time :P
Villarrica Lake




Here we are as cozy as ever in our comfortable cabana that I mentioned in the last post. Today is our last day here and then we will start heading North again, so join me in my bittersweet parting of this comfortable and beautiful place, which is by far the most gloriously gorgeous one we have been in all of South America. It has all types of beauty: lush green farmlands, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-peaked mountains, Eucalyptus forests and wildflowers everywhere along the roadside. It is never ending you can't look somewhere and not see some kind of beauty. As you can see from the pictures above, we have done lots of different things lately. Living in California I never understood what was so pleasurable about "a Sunday drive", all I see driving through California is dry, dry, dry, (not to diss California or anything) I just prefer green, green, green. So when I came here one of my favorite things to do was drive and look at the incredible scenery everywhere. Sadly I am afraid that other people don't like going on drives with me because I am usually squishing over their bodies to take what they call "pictures of the exact same things " and to which I respond, "it is my passion." I am sure all of you can attest to that fact, from seeing my pictures from this and previous posts. :) I am sorry that you all have to suffer through "my passion" trust me this trip will be over soon enough and you can all rest your weary tolerances while I enjoy looking daily at my thousands of pictures of fields and mountains. :) Oh well I am afraid that I have lost my own mind and do not know what I am talking about anymore so maybe I will just talk about something else... our horseback ride. Yes, two days ago we went on a horseback ride through the wilderness. It was actually quite interesting, other than the fact that my short little horse was ALWAYS trying to steal a bite of the trailside shrubbery, especially while I was attempting to take a picture of the beauti... oop there I go again with my silly rantings about beauty. So I better stop now before we both go utterly insane. So now I'll leave you saying that we have completely enjoyed our time in this wonderful place and (at least I am) ready to say my partings to it and to return home to our dry and wildflowerless California. Until later then my friends, when I have access to free internet. All in God's perfect plan for our trip,
Julia

Millionaire Tourists

Wow and I thought the gas was bad in the US !

The delicious, gas station, shack, restaurant

A perfect day

The Volcano

This is my meager little life: the world's most comfortable
pillow, the world's most faithful backpack, and the world's most tightly crammed suitcase


La Colina: the comfortable hotel

Oh, the Andes!


Does it not look like Switzerland or something?

La Casa Chueca German Hostel

Those Beautiful lakes

The family farms everywhere



More of La Casa Chueca

Driving through the Andes



The beautiful view in Vina del mar

Poppies! (and they're not illegal to pick here ;)
Getting pulled over for driving the wrong way on a 1 way street...he was nice and he only gave us directions

I was definitely right about us being millionaire tourists once we got to Chile. I mean after all we started out by going to a very nice Best Western Hotel in Vina del Mar, which felt very luxurious after dysfunctional Cabanas and stinky rented houses, as Morielle put it " I am soooo comfortable " well that was until we found out that she had a severe infestation of lice. Yes, although I have not been lucky enough to get them myself, I have become quite an expert at nit-picking. Despite that realization, we spent a very fun day on Fiona's birthday in Vina del Mar, shopping at Artesenal fairs, eating at a deliciously expensive restaurant whose menu was practically a poem, riding in a dollar a minute horse drawn carriage (that was my mom and Elli's idea), walking along the beach, and watching the sunset.

The next day we drove for 4 hours through a sadly brown and dry Chile, really getting to know the beauty of gas station bathrooms ( trust that it was not my little voice asking for one every 30 min. : ) Fiona, Morielle and I had lots of fun trying to sing trios from Scarlet Pimpernel and Aida but decided that it always sounds much better with real music and gave up. Then with a car full of rumbling stomaches, we stopped at a shack restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and decided to try out the nonexistent menu of soup, lamb, and rice and beans. When the bread came and to my dad's great delight, hot sauce we decided that so far it was better than some restaurants in Uruguay. Our assumptions were immediately shattered, the moment we put the traditional Chilean food in our mouths. We left with wonderfully satisfied stomachs and two delighted old cooks who had probably never seen the likes of us before, and who would probably never get more compliments on their little gas station restaurant. After that the scenery of the countryside got much more beautiful, with more green and less brown, and of all things California poppies growing wild. When we finally got in view of the mountains, there were green farms, lakes, and hills everywhere. When we finally reached our "final destiny" as Elli so adorably said, we were surrounded by small family farms, grazing cows, and adorable little houses. In the midst of that we found our hostel/hotel La Casa Chueca. This was nothing normal, it was a sheltered community and gathering place of German speakers and travelers. They all spoke very good English and varying amounts of Spanish. It was equivalent to a bed and breakfast but more beautiful, cozy, and comfortable. Sadly we only stayed there for 1 night, and moved on, drove on. We drove closer to the mountains with the scenery becoming ever more gorgeous. Verdantly green valleys with yellow and white wildflowers, shadowed on one side by forests, and on the other side by the Andes, those majestic, snow peaked, wonders of nature. I felt like I could've been in Switzerland, it was beyond words. We kept driving through it all, then stopped at another gas station for lunch. My mom was very negative about eating at a gas station, but as soon as she went in and saw vegetables on the menu, she had a change of heart. After another very delicious meal we learned our lesson: Never underestimate! (especially when it comes to gas stations.) Satisfied and optimistic, we headed out to drive the last few hours. We reached the Volcano town of Villarica, and thought it looked more like Alaska than South America. In that town we got to our hotel La Colina. Everyone there speak English and the owner is actually from Montana. We have now been here 2 nights and have been perfectly comfortable, with wonderful service, cozy rooms, a delicious restaurant 3 steps from our door, and some of us (not me because I have another horrible cold) getting 3 scoops of homemade Ice Cream every night, just like any millionaire tourists would. ;)
All in God's plan for our trip,
Julia

Alta Gracian Times

• Talking in Spanglish in the river with our amazing Alta Gracia friends
• Playing the guitar singing and drinking Mate with the same friends at the same river
• Another one of my favorites: a sunset
• Villa Los Aromas (right near Alta Gracia)
• 
• The worlds best Asado (made by Morielle)
• The beauty of the trees
• 
• A Freak Hail Storm
• 
• 

The past few weeks...
I think because it still holds true that pictures are worth 100's of words, I wont write to much and rather let you savor the pictures. But I basically just wanted to summarize our Cabana life, our Alta Gracia times, and our last days in Argentina. So I will let the pictures speak.
All in God's perfect plan for our trip,
Julia

Sorry!!!

Hello Again,
I am sorry about the last post. It kinda shows that I was really homesick, and having a bad day. We are not doing nothing right now, we just aren't travelling. We just moved from a cabana in Alta Gracia to a rented house in Villa Los Aromas, which is a beautiful, quiet little community completely surrounded by La Bolsa Rio (river). We actually have a backyard and are enjoying swimming in our backyard river, sun tanning (burning for me and my light skin) on rocks, and eating the wild mulberries that grow everywhere. Granted we are still a little bored sometimes, and are still extremely homesick, but life isn't that bad and there is a lot to be grateful for. My dad will be coming back from the States ( I started calling the USA " the States" ever since we came here) and we will take 1 last week of Spanish classes and then go travel to the scenic Bariloche and go check out the legendary Andes. Life is good in this hemisphere.
All in God's perfect plan for our trip,
Julia

P.S. For those of you who asked for pictures I posted in a previous post that I posted the pictures of Uruguay with the posts that I wrote in Uruguay. So if you check the first 3-4 posts there should be some pictures there. Sadly I am in the same pickle of only using the internet's computers so I can't post any pictures right now, but I will hopefully show all of you all of my hundreds of pictures when we come home in 24 days.
PP.SS. Not to mention it, but it really is encouraging when people comment, so if you so desire...then please do. Hasta luego!

Feelings of Discouragement

Here I am in Alta Gracia, Argentina and I am feeling pretty discouraged about this blog. We are not doing anything on this trip anyway, other than sitting around waiting for a month. Everyone is probably really busy with their own lives right now, so I don't expect anyone to be reading this. But if any of you are then know that it is not because of business that I am not going to blog until I have something good to say or I know that people are actually reading my boring reviews. That is it for now. Check back some day. Chao people!

Pictures...Finally

Hello Everyone,
I am going to post all the pictures of the past two months. But I will post them inside of the old posts that they belong in. For example I will post Panama pictures in the Panama post, etc. I will have to do it gradually though, different pictures different days, because it takes so long to load. I already posted for Panama, so check that. But keep checking up every day. At least I got my pictures...finally.
Gotta run!
Julia

A Very Extended Week and a Half

We have officially finished our week and a half in Argentina and have loved it, so we have decided to stay here in Argentina for the rest of our trip instead of going back to Uruguay. We have been very impressed with Argentina for many reasons.

1. They have such a wonderful culture and people are proud of that, and wholeheartedly enjoy it.

2. The people are very energetic and taking as much as they can out of life, and striving for the best. But at the same time, being content with simplicity.

3. Catholicism instead of secularism is the Country´s religion, so people here are much more dedicated to God and what they believe in.

4. And last it is so beautiful, from rolling grass farmland to rugged, snow-peaked mountains. The moment we saw those mountains we knew our hearts would stay.

It is not a perfect country but it is still really amazing, and we all love it. Every day holds another adventure and we offer them all up to God in his perfect will for our trip. Until later then,
Julia

A Second-long Post

Hello all,
This has to be a super fast post, because I am sitting in a Internet cafe in Argentina while Elli gets a tetnus shot because a stray dog bit her arm. Well to put a long story short, we left on Tuesday to leave our Piriapolis abode and travel in Argentina for a week and a half. It´s that simple and yet complicated. I really wish I could post pictures today but as I am using the cafe´s computer I cant. For the one day that we have been in Argentina we have loved it more than a month in Uruguay. We experienced a feeling that Uruguay was heavy with people´s unwillingness to look at life joyfully despite past depression and suffering. Yes, there were some very happy and kind people, but the general atmosphere and energy was very heavy, passive and lonely. When we arrived on the ferry in Buenos Aires, Argentina (which is a city of 10 million) gigantic city, we felt a much better, more willing, and joy despite pain, energy. It is kind of ironic that we noticed that, because ¨Buenos Aires¨ means ¨good air.¨ After laughing and picture-taking our way through Buenos Aires in our incredible 9 seater car, we arrived in Lujan, which is the home to the most visited shrine in the world. The Cathedral is incredible, and the people are so dedicated to it. There we took amazing pictures (which I will post asap), prayed, and went to mass. At the end of mass Elli accidently bumped a stray dog and got a bite on her arm. Because stray dogs arent very healthy and my mom couldnt get the cut to bleed we called the free, come to you ambulance, because of worries of rabies. When they came a super nice lady came went into the nearest bathroom with us and told us after looking at El´s arm that rabies wasn´t a worry but tetnus was. Accidentaly Elli has never had a tetnus shot so the doctor told us to go to the hospital the next day and get her a tetnus shot. Thanks to Elli´s bite we stayed in Lujan, and of all things it was the something-hundredeth anniversary of the creation of the town. Right across from the church, in the plaza was a traditional Argentine band playing then of all things a ballooning co. came and opened a huge hot air balloon. It was amazing I got literally 1 foot away from a full-sized air balloon. In the States they would have practically the whole plaza taped off, but here they let 5 year olds be 1 millimeter away from the giant fan. After happily deciding to stay the night we checked into a lovely little hotel and hurried back to hear another singer- the Josh Groban of South America. He sang with his guitar romantic love songs, throwing around his curly black hair. It was delightful! Only to finish a perfect day with fuegos artificiales- fireworks.
It was God´s providence that Elli got bit so that we could totally adore Argentina. That is the latest, and I will try to post all the pics from Uruguay and Argentina when we get back to Uruguay in 1 and a half weeks. Pray for us as we travel through one of the biggest countries, I will try to keep you as updated as possible. All in Gods will for our trip,
Julia

The End of the week and of Montevideo

Hello again,
It has been more than a whole week already? It hardly feels like that. We have been so busy, doing everything imaginable, like school.Well fortunately and unfortunately it is over now...Spanish school. It has been three whole weeks and they have slipped right through my grasp, not to say though that I haven't learned an incredible amount. We had a little celebration today and I got a little certificate of completion. It was overall a really nice school with great teachers and a good learning system. It has been a very good experience. Our whole time here has practically been a blur. Well not completely, we have done so many amazing things in this city, but they all just seem to pass and another day flies by whether you want it to or not. Well...since I last blogged, I have learned much more in Spanish, enough that I could understand about half the sermon in church last Sunday. I am not even close to being fluent I'll have many more weeks and months of conversation before that will happen. I do feel more confident though. It is an improvement for me, but I still feel really stupid talking to people, another thing yet to practice. Other than Spanish, we went to a Murga which is like a parade with drums and dancers and some girls with " un poco ropa " we called them, and lots of people doing whatever the heck they wanted within the boundaries of the parade. I would not go so far as to say that it was an objectively good event, but it was enjoyable enough, if not interesting. Two days ago we went to Prado, which is the famous park on the edge of Montevideo. It was nice to go somewhere where I could actually see something natural, but in Uruguay things are always small, and this was no bigger than any normal park in California. We also went to these beautiful gardens and church that were near the park, ( I wish I could post pictures, but I don't have a camera cord, ) which was very refreshing after being cooped up for ever in a city. The last interesting thing we did, was our whole family went to the mall ( which is also very small to a Californian like me, but huge to an Uruguayan) and looked for sheets, then I ate MSG soaked Chinese food (and felt very flushed,) and finally we walked to Positos and got gelato -a kind of incredible ice cream here, then went home and plopped in bed. That was our last adventure here in Montevideo. After we go to the ferria- which is like a farmers market tomorrow, we will head off to Piriapolis which is a small beach town 2 hrs away from the city. I am so glad to get out of the city, and be somewhere smaller, the "country" as Chris and Elli call it. We will be staying there in a friend's duplex, for two weeks until my dad comes (yay, ) and then we might leave or we might stay two more weeks. As you can see that since school is over, our plans are very relative and will fluctuate a lot over the next few weeks or months. That is what we are doing for now, since Piriapolis has no Internet access, I will probably won't be able to blog for a while. I am still learning a lot about Uruguay, primarily that I can't go outside of the house without people seriously staring , honking or whistling at me or my sisters. Everyone always says "oh don't worry there are plenty of blonds and pale-skinned people there, you'll fit in fine." But no, unless I go down the street with a dark hat on and tanning lotion I don't think that is gonna happen. Well that is it down in South America, where time never stays still, and each day feels as short as an hour. Anyway, until later then my friends...
In God's perfect plan for our trip,
Julia

Great Expectations

The View of Montivideo from the Beach
My room at the school


The Trash in raised Dumpsters because of Wild Dogs
You Gotta love Milk in a Bag
The Famous Rambla (sadly upside down)
The View of the City from the Rambla

Prado Park
The Uruguay Government Building

A beautiful Gothic church near Prado
A Beautifully Random Statue

Our Church 2 blocks away
A Montivideo Park
Well dear readers,
I am so sorry I have not blogged, for what feels like ages. I have been so busy here in Uruguay. We have now started up Spanish school and that takes up 4 hrs of my day not including homework. I am really enjoying studying in my class of 3 sisters and one man,(who is a farmer from New Zealand); and I really like my two teachers and am learning a tremendous amount from them, but my classes and various other high school work I can fit in to my day, are very time consuming. It has been especially hard because I have a nasty head cold, and trying to fight that, when it is 100% humidity and rain and thunder all day is not particularly easy. So I am afraid I will only be able to blog only on the weekend, but I will make them longer. Unfortunately I also forgot my camera cord so I won't post pictures until Oct. But other than that I am having a great time here in Montevideo. Actually I am lovin' it. Now this is a city of two million, and I am no city girl, but if I had to live in a city I could live here. I say this because it feels less like a "city" then San Luis Obispo. People walk everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.It's amazing! People air-dry their clothes on their rooftops,there are adorable little shoppes and beautiful buildings everywhere, intermixed in residential areas,and there are little fruit stands all over the place. Some people may call it haphazard, but I call it charming. The family we were staying with for the first 3 days, had no car. If they needed anything they would walk there. For example, Emily C. - the mom, needed an eraser for something, so she put her baby on her hip, took her toddler's hand and called all the other kids and walked a block to get them from a craft store. It is just so much better than hopping in your car and driving 10 miles to get it at Target or something. Much more efficient. However every good place has it's disadvantages,(except of course heaven :) 1. There are bars on all the windows,in case of theft. 2. There are some not so nice advertisements and magazines as the main feature on some building and magazine stands. 3. People stare, stare, stare and don't even smile. It is the one thing that really gets on my nerves. But I guess it is just something I am going to have to get used to. There are a couple of other kinda quirky things here such as: bagged milk, cream and yogurt, non-refrigerated eggs, and the eighties hair styles- mullets, etc.
But it would probably be scary to name all the strange things in the US. Well I am really loving it here, and I thank God for the great opportunities He has and is giving me. My experiences so far have perfectly fulfilled my great expectations of what I wanted it to be like here in Uruguay and I am sure it will continue to do so as I see more of this beautiful country. Until I write again... and in God's perfect plan for our trip,
Julia